Swansea Pals

A history the Welsh volunteer service unit that bravely fought despite suffering heavy casualties during World War I.

The Swansea Battalion was formed from local men by the Mayor of Swansea in the response to Lord Kitchener's famous appeal for volunteers. The first full history of the Battalion, Swansea Pals covers early recruiting for the battalion in the Swansea area and its subsequent training in Swansea, Rhyl and Winchester, prior to departure in December 1915 for the Western front, some one,200 strong.

As part of the 38th Welsh Division , the battalion participated in the attack on Mametz Wood on the Somme where, in a single day, it suffered almost one hundred men killed and 300 wounded out of an attacking contingent of less than 700. A further very successful raid on the German held High Command Redoubt was followed by front line service in the dreaded Ypres Salient. Here the battalion took part in the bloody third Battle of Ypres, better known today as the Passchendaele Offensive. At Aveluy Wood the battalion was accidentally shelled by its own artillery, suffering a number of fatalities. The Swansea Battalion then took an active part in the battles that finally broke the Hindenburg Line and the spirit of German resistance, one of its exploits being described by Douglas Haig as the high point of soldierly achievement.

The Swansea Battalion was still advancing when the Armistice was signed in November 1918.